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Open Gorge: The Skamania Dispatch & Klickitattler
Welcome to Open Gorge, your audio bridge to local government, infrastructure, and community news in the Columbia River Gorge.
Hosted by the founder of Open Gorge, Kate Bertash, this podcast brings the in-depth, civic-minded reporting of The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler newsletters straight to your headphones. We break down the public meetings you didn't have time to attend, track local infrastructure projects, and decode the regional policy decisions that directly impact your daily life.
Whether you are a Columbia Gorge resident commuting across the river, following local elections, or tracking where your tax dollars are going, we provide clear, factual summaries of what’s changing and what’s coming next.
Our unified feed covers the entire Gorge. Check the title of each episode to see if we are covering Skamania County, Klickitat County, or regional issues that impact us all. Listen to what matters most to your neighborhood, or stay tuned for the full regional picture.
Subscribe to the written newsletters and join the community at SkamaniaDispatch.com.
Open Gorge: The Skamania Dispatch & Klickitattler
[Klickitat] 🛑 RV Evictions & Unfunded Parks - Klickitat BOCC 5/12 & 5/19
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode, we unpack the growing friction in Klickitat County over code enforcement and the reality of RV living in a housing-strained region. Plus, we look at why a federal grant for Dallesport Park was denied and what it means for future county projects.
In This Episode:
- The upcoming June 18th workshop on code enforcement and RV fines.
- Why federal funders passed on the Dallesport Park project.
- Department consolidation: creating a unified Community Development Department.
- Sheriff's department tactical upgrades and jail maintenance contracts.
- The start of Burn Ban Zone 3.
Resources & Links:
- WAGAP Community Needs Report
- Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com
- Review agendas and minutes on the Klickitat County website.
Stay Connected with the Gorge
The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org.
To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge.
Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in. Today we're looking at the Clickitac County Board of Commissioners meetings from May 12th and May 19th. We've got a lot of ground to cover, from the denial of park funding to Sheriff's Department upgrades, but we're starting with the most complex issue bubbling up right now, which is code enforcement. On June 18th, the board is holding a major workshop to overhaul the county's code enforcement procedures, specifically focusing on the use of multiple RVs as housing on single parcels. Planning Director Scott Edelman and Code Compliance Officer George Sandejas are preparing a new three-step procedure, hoping to move the county away from inconsistent practices and towards a standardized system of fines and fees. But this isn't just about cleaning up properties. It's a deeply thorny issue tied to our regional housing squeeze. When the county cracks down on RV living, they're running headfirst into the hidden homelessness crisis. Many of our residents live in RVs simply because it's their only option. And creating a strict new fine structure without addressing where those displaced people can go risks major humanitarian issues and pushback. So we'll be keeping a close eye on how the commissioners balance the written zoning codes against the reality on the ground during that June 18th workshop. Turning now to public works, the county got some disappointing news regarding the proposed Dowsport Park. Public Works Director Jeff Hunter reported that their request for federal appropriations was officially denied. The reason? It seems that the county only had some conceptual drawings, but not the full stamped engineered plans that they were looking for. Federal viewers also noted that Clickitac County lacked a defined long-term funding plan for the park's basic upkeep, what we call operations and maintenance. It's a tough lesson that federal grant agencies want shovel-ready projects, which means that the county will likely need to spend its own money on preliminary engineering if it wants to be competitive in the future. So, a quick look at public safety. The board reauthorized the Sheriff's Department to make a series of tactical purchases. This includes nearly $12,000 for rifle plates, $33,385 for night vision and thermoscopes, and just over $15,000 for 17 new Glock firearms. They also extended a five-year maintenance contract for the jail control panel, ensuring the aging facilities' electronic doors and security systems don't experience unexpected hardware failures. Finally, a quick public service announcement. Burn band zone three goes into effect on June 1st. Looking ahead, if you want to follow that critical conversation on housing and code enforcement, you'll want to tune in on Thursday, June 18th at 1030 in the morning. You've been listening to production of opengorge.org, home of the Schemania Dispatch and the Clicka Tattler. We believe that informed communities are stronger communities. To support our work and stay up to date on everything happening in the gorge, head over to SchemaniaDispatch.com to sign up for our newsletters. You can also find us on Facebook at Facebook.comslash open gorge. Join the conversation and share your thoughts on today's episode. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll talk to you next time.